Hotel News We Noted: First Day of Summer Edition

by McLean Robbins on

Welcome everyone to the first official day of Summer and, of course, your weekly dose of Hotel News We Noted, where we track the best, the most buzzy and the downright oddest news of the hospitality industry. As always, send us a note or leave a comment below if you have a timely tidbit.

Las Vegas, Now Easier to Visit Than Ever
MGM Resorts in Las Vegas has really upped the ante with their loyalty program. The brand, which has more than 40,000 hotel rooms in Vegas across a dozen properties, has announced a new tie-in with Hyatt Gold Passport so that members can redeem their points at the brand’s properties in Las Vegas. This is on the heels of partnerships earlier this year with Southwest Airlines and Royal Caribbean cruises. Good news for savvy points hounds!

IHG Supports our Military with “Army Hotels”
It’s always nice to see a hotel brand giving back to our men and women in uniform. IHG is expanding their portfolio of Army Hotels, adding 18 more military installations to their portfolio, making more than 110,000 hotel rooms available on 39 military posts worldwide. The company also supports veterans through the , helping train veterans for hospitality careers, as well as the which donates “comfort homes” to families whose loved ones are being treated at far-away military medical centers, and (S2S) non-profit, a program that helps wounded service men and women overcome personal barriers.

Haute Hotel Suite: The Gwyneth Paltrow Penthouse
Stay at The Capri Palace Hotel & Spa and live like a movie star. That is, if you check into the hotel’s penthouse suite. Spanning 1,620 square feet on the top floor of the hotel, the penthouse combines Art Deco decor with historic elegance and features a special skylight above the bed as well as a separate rooftop garden that’s more than twice the size of the suite itself. The garden features a heated swimming pool with a panoramic view, enabling guests to admire the green slopes of Monte Solaro hill, the village of Anacapri, the islands of Ischia and Procida, as well as the enchanting bay of Naples. A smaller plunge pool is accessible from the second bedroom. We’re just wondering if organic food delivery comes standard with the room charge?

A Great Way to Celebrate Your Golden Anniversary
We love this fun hotel promo to celebrate the Waldorf Astoria property Rome Cavalieri. Check into the hotel at any point this month and five lucky guests will find that their room has been gift wrapped in gold embroidered linens. Those guests will find themselves upgraded to the hotel’s VIP Petronius or Penthouse Suite, both of which are furnished with incredible artwork (think original Andy Warhol pieces and a Karl Lagerfeld sofa) and impressive views. We’d love a Roman holiday, how about you?

Hertz Launches Dream Car Rental Service For Those Who Just Can’t Drive 55

by Kraig Becker on

Yesterday, Hertz, one of the largest rental car companies in the world, announced the launch of their new Dream Cars service in the U.S. This new offering allows customers to rent exotic sports cars and high-end luxury models that typically haven’t been available from the company in the past, granting travelers an opportunity to explore their destination in head-turning style.

Some of the vehicles that are available for rent include the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Bentley Continental GT, Ferrari F430, Lamborghini Gallardo, Mercedes-Benz AMG, Porsche 911 and the SRT Viper, just to name a few. And for those who want to enjoy a luxury ride while still remaining eco-friendly, Hertz is even offering the Tesla Model S electric sedan.

The Dream Car service extends well beyond just renting an amazing luxury ride. Hertz will also send a representative to deliver the car to the customer and give them a one-on-one orientation of the vehicle as well. Customers can be met at their terminal in the airport or the car can be delivered to a location of their choice.Hertz says that Dream Cars will soon be available in 35 markets across the U.S., including such major cities as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, Dallas and Chicago. As of this writing, the website lists only Florida locations such as Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach, however, so it may take some time for the service to spread out. It should also be noted that not all vehicles are available in each location, so if you’re considering renting your personal dream car, you may want to peruse the catalog ahead of time.

The website doesn’t list pricing for these high-end vehicles, but you can bet they’ll be well beyond what most of us can afford. Still, if you’re looking to splurge on your next vacation and you want to spend a few days driving around in a car that is above and beyond anything you’ve ever imagined, this is a service that can deliver that experience for you.

As for me, I’m already daydreaming about living out my James Bond fantasies with that Aston Martin Vantage.

Learn Spanish With Lonely Planet’s Fluent Road

by Meg Nesterov on

Traveling to Spain or Latin America this summer and want to say more than “Donde esta el bano?” (though, that’s an important one to know)? Lonely Planet has just launched a new online foreign language program, Fluent Road, partnering with Spanish language program Fluenz. The focus is on Spanish for now, but you can choose from dialects from Argentina, “neutral” Latin America, Mexico, or Spain.

Fluent Road is designed for travelers to get the basics before a trip: Spanish for transportation, finding accommodation, ordering food, etc. It’s also a good stepping-stone to a more intensive learning program, and travelers could easily work up to a Fluenz course after completing Fluent Road. What differentiates this from other language learning like Rosetta Stone or Pimsleur is a dissection of the language, showing you how Spanish works and providing explanations, not just rote immersion. Fluenz founder and avid traveler Sonia Gil guides you through obstacles, pronunciation, and practice speaking, writing and reading as a native speaker and “language geek.”

As with all online learning, you can go at your own pace; there are 30 video lessons that can be completed in one to six months. Other useful features include the ability to record yourself to compare pronunciation a native Speaker, and customizable digital flash cards to help practice. You can also contact the teacher and program designer via Twitter.

Take a free 12-hour trial now, subscriptions start from $9 for a month to $30 for six months of access, at www.fluentroad.com.

How The Rich Kids Of Instagram Travel

by Reena Ganga on

When it comes to vacations, most of us probably already knew that the so-called one percent don’t exactly fly cattle class, stay in Super 8 motels or slurp cheap Chinatown noodles to keep their budget under check. But we didn’t realize just how lavish their vacations actually were until a collection of snapshots titled “Rich Kids of Instagram” started making its way around the Internet.

The photos follow spectacularly wealthy young adults as they jetset their way across the globe, instagramming their every move so the other 99 percent can gawk, tsk, admire, envy or weep over, depending on their inclination.Helicopters and private jets appear to rule as the transport method of choice for this unapologetically rich crowd. One instagrammer even buckled a gold-plated champagne bottle into its own seat on his jet while another reserved a plush leather spot for his dog. Boats made an appearance too with one photo showing Louis Vuitton luggage piled high on a luxurious yacht bound for the island of St Barth.

As far as destinations go, the rich kids of instagram are lounging by the pool at their holiday homes (holiday mansions?) in the Hamptons, posing in their brother’s chateau in the French city of Cannes, or stimulating the economy in Monaco. All this while they double-fist bottles of Dom Perignon and spray themselves with Moet like a Formula 1 driver on a podium. It’s a fantasy world to say the least, but you can step into it vicariously by clicking over here.

Massive Vegas Mall, Hotel, Casino Project To Be World’s Largest

by Chris Owen on

Las Vegas is no stranger to over-the-top attractions, hosting a variety of them over the years. In a single day, travelers can see a volcano explode, ride a roller coaster in “New York,” race cars, jump off the top of a hotel and more – in the middle of the desert. Coming up in 2014, construction will begin on a new project, designed to be largest, most engaging experience in the world.

Eurasia Vegas will feature indoor/outdoor theme parks, an 800-foot Ferris wheel (bigger than the 683-foot Dubai Eye), multiple golf courses and 15 million square feet of retail space. Anchored by six hotels, 39 casinos and a world-class convention center, Eurasia Vegas looks to have something for everyone, including “nation pavilions” featuring native food, products and entertainment from around the world.

The 1200-acre project is being put together by Eurasia Resorts International, Ltd. Of Nassau, Bahamas, and will be built on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land located not far from the Las Vegas Strip.

Believing that Las Vegas is “no longer the gaming location of choice for many of the world’s top professional gamblers and high-rolling tourists,” Eurasia Las Vegas looks to change all that by making the desert resort “the most compelling, must go and see and shop experience in the world,” says the project’s developer in an 83-page proposal.